Board highlights expansion of language immersion, community support

MILWAUKEE (August 4, 2016) – The Milwaukee Board of School Directors approved the name change of Victory K-8 School for the Gifted and Talented and Italian Immersion to Victory K-8 and Milwaukee Italian Immersion School, as part of the district’s popular language immersion programs.

Victory will be a full Italian immersion program, starting in K4, for the 2016-17 school year. Staff and parents requested the name change for the school to better reflect the school’s focus. Staff and the School Governance Committee identified three name options, then parents voted to choose the new name.

“This is part of the district’s ongoing efforts to expand popular programs such as language immersion through our Regional Development Plan,” MPS Superintendent Dr. Darienne Driver said. “We congratulate the students, teachers and school community at Victory for their commitment and support of the Italian immersion program.”

In the full immersion program, students will become bilingual in English and Italian through Italian-language instruction in all subject areas. The school also offers a traditional monolingual program.

MPS’ highly-successful French, German and Spanish immersion schools exceed both district and state averages in English language arts proficiency. For more information about Victory School or to enroll for the 2016-17 school year, call the school at (414) 304-6700 or visit mpsmke.com/EnrollMPS.

In other matters, Milwaukee Public School administrators also reported on Thursday night that the district accepted more than $218,000 in donations in July, an increase of more than $100,000 from July 2015. Dr. Driver and the School Board extended a special thank you to the district’s business and community partners.